Monday, October 17, 2005

This World Series rocks...

A funny thing happened on the way to Game 3 of the 1989 World Series, well not that funny...an earthquake ! The Bay Area Fall Classic was interupted by, of all things, a quake registering 7.1 on the Richter scale resulting in 67 deaths, 3,100 injuries and a whopping $7 billion in damage...

While there was no damage at either Candlestick Park in San Francisco or Oakland's Alameda County Stadium, Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent postponed Game 3 for 10 days, moving it to October 27th. Some critics called for cancellation of the remainder of the Series out of respect for victims of the quake but most felt that it would be better to move on as part of the bay area's healing process..

When the World Series resumed the Oakland A's took a commanding 3-0 advantage in games over the Giants and would close out the Series with a win the following day in Game 4 to sweep San Francisco in 4 games...

This was a bittersweet championship for Oakland, dedicated to the victims of the San Francisco earthquake. How can we ever forget the scenes of twisted expressways with cars and their passengers hanging on for dear life, the broken streets, the house fires, people running for their lives, the total devastation caused by an earthquake ? The Oakland A's may have won the World Series but the Bay Area won the hearts of the world...

More October 17 Memories...

1919) The Radio Corporation of America is created...

1933) "News-Week" appears on newsstands for the first time. The name of the magazine is later changed to "Newsweek"...

1960) Billboard Magazine reports that Dion & the Belmonts are breaking up...

1962) The Beatles make their first appearance on Britain's Grenada TV Network...

1962) "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers tops the charts (the Halloween hit will re-enter the charts in 1970 & '73 reaching #10 in 1973)...

1964) "She's Not There" is released by the Zombies...

1964) The Yankees fire manager Yogi Berra...

1967) "Hair" premieres at New York's Public Theatre...

1969) The New York Nets move from Comack to Island Garden in Hempstead...

1970) Eric Clapton releases "After Midnight"...

1972) Chuck Berry has his first & only #1 hit, "My Ding-a-Ling"...

1973) "The Way We Were" starring Barbra Streisand & Robert Redford premieres...

1974) The Oakland A's win their 3rd consecutive World Series beating Los Angeles in 5 games...

1978) The Yankees beat the Dodgers in 6 games to repeat as World Champions...

1979) "Beatlemania" closes at the Winter Garden Theater after 920 performances...

1979) Mother Teresa wins the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on behalf of the destitute in Calcutta...

1985) Lou Piniella is named Yankee manager...

1988) Dallas Green replaces Lou Piniella as Yankee manager (Steinbrenner strikes again)...

1988) Phil Collins reaches the top of the charts with "Groovy Kind of Love" (The Mindbenders went to #2 with the original version in 1966)...

1989) The Bay Area World Series is rocked by an earthquake (feature story)...

1991) The legendary Tennessee Ernie Ford dies at 72...

1997) The remains of Che Guevara are laid to rest in his adopted Cuba, 30 years after his execution in Bolivia...

1999) Santana's "Supernatural" tops the charts, the group's first #1 hit in 28 years...

2000) Just in time for Halloween, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum opens in Times Square...

Happy Birthday To...

1921) Tom Poston...

1930) Jimmy Breslin...

1938) Evel Knievel...

1941) Jim Seals (Seals & Crofts)...

1948) Margot (Lois Lane) Kidder...

1962) Mike ("Beavis & Butthead) Judge...

1972) Eminem...

Commentary...

ABC-TV had started its pre-game show leading into Game 3 of the 1989 World Series when the earthquake hit and before they lost their transmission you saw a worried game crew that somehow managed to remain calm despite the swaying in the pressbox and then some shaky live camera coverage before the lights went out when the electricity was turned off in the ballpark. Remarkably there was no major structural damage at Candlestick Park...

While what transpired in the World Series took a backseat to the earthquake and resulting devastation, it should be noted that Oakland pitcher Dave Stewart started 2 games, winning both, struck out 14 in 16 innings of work and had an overall Series earned run average of 1.69. Dave Stewart was voted World Series Most Valuable Player...